Breaking Rule 12
by ncisabbylover
Summary: Small fic about Tony and Kate. Kinda fluffy, writting during Earth Hour 2010


**A/N: Written for Loz during Earth Hour, March 2010**

The bath water enveloped her body. It was so hot that her skin was turning red. She loved doing this. After a hard case there was nothing better than a glass of red wine and a bath so hot that if felt like it was melting away any and all remnants of the past twenty-four hours.

_Tap tap tap tapidy tap _

And that was the worst thing that could happen during one of these moments. She ignored it. Praying it was just one of her neighbours looking for their missing cat.

The rapping sounded again, this time accompanied by a deep, slightly broken, voice.

"Kate? You home?" She sighed and called back to signify the person to wait. Wrapping the robe around her tightly, she unlocked the dead bolt and freed the chain.

"What's up Tony?" She asked exasperated. She was waiting for some perverted, sexist comment on her part about her present attire. After a few seconds of silence she looked up at his face. Red-rimmed eyes, avoiding eye contact; this was far from normal behaviour from Tony. This caused Kate to conclude that there was a problem.

"Tony, what's wrong?" Her voice was laced with concern now.

"Uh, I...Um, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come. I'll leave now." Tony stumbled over the words and turned back the way he came. Kate reached out and caught his arm just before he stepped out of reach.

" Tony get your butt in here and tell me what the hell is going on." Her tone was orderly but light yet still filled with worry for her partner.

Tony smiled very lightly but it didn't reach his eyes. He simply followed her inside and sat on the couch opposite her.

"What's happened Tony?" Kat got straight to it, wrapping her robe around her tighter.

"It's, it's my best friend from college. One of my frat brothers called. He's dead. Matt is dead; murdered. He was just about to get married. They still haven't caught the guy. He didn't even do anything. Just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I...I... it could be me." Tony raced through, cocking out the words on the end.

"Tony, I'm so sorry." Kate tried to console him, moving to sit beside him on the couch and hold his hand. "But you're right. It could be you. With our jobs you can never take anything for granted. You can never leave anything unsaid. Never pass up a good opportunity because you might never get the chance again. All it takes is one wack-job; one stray bullet." Tony nodded at the truth of her words.

"Kate, I...I..." Tony sighed, knowing it was now or never. "I'll probably leave after I say this. You'll laugh me out. But Kate, I love you. Before you say anything, I don't think I could handle your rejection face to face. Tomorrow night I'll be waiting at the coffee shop down the road from work. If you somehow feel the same way I'd love you have your company. If not then I'll be taking the placement change the director offered me two days ago." Not looking up and taking Kate's shocked silence as a kind of rejection in itself he stood and headed for the door. Kate reached it before him and stood in his way. Using her hand on his chin, she forced him to look her in the eyes.

"You're not messing with me, are you Tony?" Kate asked, cautiously suspicious.

"Never about this." Came Tony's serious reply.

"Tomorrow; after work, then." Kate smiled, standing on her tip toes to match his height and kiss his lips softly. He walked out the door, a slight bounce in his step.

_26 hours later..._

"So tell me about Matt." Kate suggested, wrapping both her hands around her hot chocolate mug.

"There's not much t tell. We were best mates in college. We kept in contact. An email here and there and now he's gone. It wasn't so much losing him that upset me; More that I realized that I could've been me. That it could be me every single day. He left stuff undone. I don't want to do that."

"So, what is this then?" Kate asked, gesturing back and forth between them.

"The best description I can think of is breaking rule 12." They both chuckled

"Let me drive you home. I'll pick you up in the morning and you can get your car then." Tony asked standing and stretching out his hand for her to take. Claiming it and standing herself, Kate wrapped her arms around his torso, holding him close.

"Don't make me regret this Tony. I fall fast and hard." Kate whispered in his chest.

"I will never let you go." Tony promised, whispering into her hair. Pulling back from their embrace, he swept down and kissed her gently on the lips before leading her out of the coffee shop.

Gibbs watched them cross the road hand in hand. They were breaking his rules but he wouldn't let on that he knew; as long as they kept it out of the office. Besides, sometimes it was good to break the rules. As Tony and Kate vanished from his sight he turned his attention back to the stunning redhead sitting across from him.

"What did you say?" He asked.

"I love you Jethro."

"I love you too Jen."


End file.
